When the Rain Stops
by Pyres
Summary: After the stormy night of Todd's death, Kara notices a pattern. As the weather grows worse, so do her and Alice's chances of survival. Introspective. Human Alice.


Rain is peculiar.

Although Kara herself cannot feel it the way humans do, it has always had a strange effect on her. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that her first memory is of rain. Not her first memory from when she was yet again brought to Todd's home after a reset, but her oldest memory that she is aware of: a fragment of one from a life with a different owner. She doesn't remember much - the memory itself corrupted too much to be properly viewed - but she does remember the rain; the sound of it falling in heavy sheets on the roof of one of her previous owners' houses, the smell of ozone and earth and _renewal_. She recalls her own observations on the weather, on how an errant thought slipped between her programming that stirred awe and something like contentment in her. Yes, Kara believes she has always liked the rain.

Several owners and one homicide later, Kara's fondness has not abated. She has heard both humans and Androids complain of the rain or cite the many inconveniences it causes respectively, but Kara remains unmoved. It is true that rain makes the roads slick, obscures even an Android's vision, and can make humans like Alice deathly ill. It is true that rain is often associated with grief and loss, but as Kara watches the steady downpour between the boards on the windows of the abandoned house Alice and her holed up in, she can't help but see the rain as a sign of hope. It is the rain that washed out Todd's blood from her clothes and concealed any traces of their presence outside of the rundown house. To Kara, the rain is a reassurance that she and Alice are going to be okay.

Kara will take Alice in the morning and keep running, knowing the rain will cover their tracks.

.

Kara doesn't sleep, so she catches Ralph on his way out and firmly yet kindly tells the deviant that no, he does _not_ have to hunt food for Alice, Kara will take care of it. Ralph is disappointed, but acquiesces and returns to scrawling 'RA9' on the walls of the other room. Kara takes the opportunity to finally check the second floor and properly disguise herself as a human. She barely blinks at the corpse in the shower, but hurries to rejoin Alice downstairs. It's a little before daylight and the rain is starting to die down when Kara considers taking their leave. Kara knows what she and Alice need is to put as much distance between Todd's corpse and themselves as possible, preferably soon, but she is reluctant to push Alice too hard considering the traumatic events of the previous night. When the rain stops completely, Kara feels dread settle heavily in her stomach.

Kara's decision to linger nearly costs her when a CyberLife Android shows up to investigate the house and Ralph unintentionally gives away her and Alice's hiding spot due to his suspiciously high stress levels. Kara immediately forgives the deviant when Ralph tackles the RK800, buying her enough time to grab Alice and run. The RK800 is quick to catch up to them just as they clear the fence above the highway, but for some inexplicable reason they both hesitate, locking gazes through the chain-links as if desperately searching for the other's _why_.

 _Why are you hunting your own kind?_

 _Why are you protecting a human?_

Kara doesn't find an answer in time, and by the confusion in the RK800's eyes he doesn't either, but she catches sight of a rapidly approaching officer and knows she has to go _now_. She rips her gaze from the RK800's and slides down the muddy slope to the highway with Alice in tow. She distantly hears the RK800 begin to climb the fence and the other officer yelling at him to _stop_ with something like concern and sighs in relief when the RK800 obeys the officer's command.

She feels the RK800's eyes tracking her movements with a laserlike focus as she barely gets the two of them across safely and tries to ignore the weight and intensity of his gaze as she kneels to comfort Alice on the opposite side of the highway. There are tears streaming down Alice's face and Kara briefly thinks of _rain_ as she wraps the child in a tight embrace.

"We're never doing that again." Kara vows, half for Alice's benefit and half for her own.

She's never again running without the rain.

.

Escaping Zlatko is a stressful experience, but when it's all over and Luther has revealed himself to be on their side, Kara blocks out everything around her except Alice and the rain. She holds Alice close even as she draws her own comfort from the downpour, feeling like she can finally breathe again now that Alice is safe and there are raindrops on her synthetic skin. Luther asks if he can join them on their journey to safety, and in a split second of recklessness Kara says _yes_ and asks him to take them straight to Jericho in the same breath.

Luther smiles a little and says, "Follow me."

.

Halfway to Jericho the rain turns into snow and Kara watches the snowflakes drift lazily to the ground in curiosity and fascination and thinks, _Different, but it's okay_.

Out loud, she says, "It's very pretty."

And when Luther replies with, "It's slowing us down," Kara immediately agrees.

Kara can run with the rain, but even Androids are slowed by snow and a quick glance back at Alice reminds her that for all its beauty, snow is twice as deadly to human beings. Kara only hopes that this whole experience won't kill any of them and that the snow will serve her as well as the rain.

.

At Jericho, with Alice settled by a fire and Luther under solemn oath to protect her, Kara takes a moment to head to the upper decks to sort out her thoughts on the swirling snow. She sits outside for a while, closely watching the individual snowflakes as they drift towards the ground. The wind is biting, the air is sharp, and all smells are smothered under a slowly thickening blanket of snow. She picks out the downfalls to the frozen rain: the increased risk of illness, the way it preserves her tracks in the freshly fallen snow, the growing weight of it as it accumulates on her shoulders. She makes sure to stand and shake herself off from time to time, disliking the way the snow builds up to the point of hindering her movements, and comes to the conclusion that while rain is _soothing_ snow feels _suffocating._

Kara watches how a lone snowflake lands on her exposed hand and sticks. Where rain would normally slip off, the snow stays in place. Once snow settles, it becomes incapable of moving of its own volition. Snow, Kara concludes, is simply rain that doesn't run.

Having been living life on the run the past few days, Kara is torn over whether she should find the thought a comfort or a warning.

.

When Kara spots the RK800 on the Jericho dressed in regular street clothes, Kara knows better than to believe he has turned over a new leaf. It's easy to recognize him despite the wardrobe change and beanie concealing his LED and distinctive hair. He may not be actively pursuing her anymore or be dressed in his CyberLife uniform, but his eyes are still begging the question of _why_. Kara feels her heart fill with sympathy for the RK800, but doesn't move to approach him. She herself slips out of his immediate sight and keeps an eye on him in her peripherals as she moves upstairs in hopes of avoiding contact.

Unfortunately, Kara loses sight of him for a minute, and ends up directly in his path. She tries not to look anywhere near his face, but finds her eyes drifting of their own accord as soon as she feels his heavy gaze on her. Their eyes meet and Kara registers slight alarm in the RK800's face. She doesn't know what he sees in her own expression, but knows it is too late to feign ignorance. The only other option is confrontation.

Keeping her steps measured and her face carefully neutral, she comes to a stop beside him and angles her head slightly in his direction as she lays hand on his upper arm. The RK800 doesn't so much as twitch. She holds his gaze as she communicates directly with him.

 _I hope you know what you're doing._

Kara can imagine the RK800's LED flashing red at her simple statement and she continues towards the stairs before he has a chance to react. Just before she breaks contact with him she catches his plea for her to _wait_ , but elects to ignore him in favor or returning to Alice and Luther.

Kara quickly descends the nearest stairs and turns her attention to one of the holo screens, idly noting the unrelenting snowstorm sweeping through Detroit on a news feed. She knows the RK800 is here with ill, if very conflicted, intentions, but she threw her lot in with Markus and Jericho and isn't about to run away now.

 _Snow is rain that doesn't run._

Kara is tired of running.

.

Kara isn't surprised, per se, when soldiers descend on Jericho by the dozens and Markus makes the executive decision to have everyone evacuate then blow up the ship, but she does vainly wish for more time. When Luther goes down, Kara doesn't hesitate to drag the man to safety before reluctantly abandoning him in order to get Alice out unharmed. When she and Alice make it outside and have to play dead to stay alive, Kara briefly wonders if any of the soldiers would feel remorse should they shoot Alice and see she bleeds _red_.

Thankfully, Kara doesn't have to find out. She makes her escape with Alice in tow and some of the other remaining deviants. The group she joins up with eventually finds its way back to Markus' side along with a few others, and Kara doesn't have to count to know that their dead outweigh their living by a discouraging amount. The remnants of Jericho hole up in an abandoned church, quickly settling their injured and attending to them as well as they can despite having lost most of their supplies with the freighter. The deviant resistance makes for a sorry sight in the wake of the latest tragedy, but Markus does his best to lift people's spirits as he makes his rounds throughout the church.

Kara admires the man's tenacity and genuine concern for his people and tracks his progress through the church with a sense of bitter pride. She can see others picking themselves up to follow their leader's example, going between groups and individuals to check on them and try to rekindle their dying hope. Kara would be doing the same if Alice did not need her so desperately in light of recent events. Kara looks away from Markus and down at Alice's sleeping form, her hands absentmindedly running through the girl's currently untied hair.

At the sound of unsure footsteps approaching the quiet and secluded corner Kara claimed for Alice and her, Kara looks up. Kara didn't realize she had been so incredibly tense until her body relaxes instinctively upon meeting all too familiar brown eyes. It seems a little strange, but Kara is honestly relieved to see the RK800 made it out alive and evidently made the right decision, in the end. From the slight lessening in the rigidness of the RK800's posture and the somewhat perplexed expression on his face, he is relieved to see Kara alive, too.

Kara can see the accumulation of misplaced guilt in the RK800's features and almost wants to speak before he clearly intends to, but decides to let him say his piece first. Glancing at Alice's sleeping form he murmurs, "I am sorry for chasing you out of your shelter onto that highway, before. You were forced to risk not only your own life, but that of a human child as well."

Kara looks up at the RK800 and shakes her head. "There's nothing to forgive. You were only doing your job; I did kill a man, after all." Despite speaking as quietly as possible, Alice shifts at Kara's words; the girl has evidently grown too attuned to Kara's voice. Acting half on impulse and half on rationale, Kara extends a hand in the RK800's direction.

He stares at it, looking utterly lost for a moment before gingerly taking her hand after darting a look at Kara's sincere and patient gaze. When they connect it feels a little like greeting an old friend.

 _My name is Kara. I never did get yours._

 _Connor. It's nice to meet you._

 _The pleasure is mine._

Kara smiles warmly in greeting, her lips tilting further upwards at the tentative smile Connor gives her in response.

 _You did the right thing, Connor._ Kara can hear the protests building in his mind even as she speaks over them. _You knew what you were doing, after all._

 _I didn't. I still don't._

Connor sounds sincere in his conflict, but connected as they are Kara can see glimpses of a reckless, but solid plan forming in the back of his mind. Subtly, Kara draws his attention to his own handiwork while taking the opportunity to look it over herself. From what she can see, it's a good idea.

 _Looks to me like you do._

Connor's mind quiets and all hints of his plan are pushed out of Kara's reach, much to her amusement. The emotion Kara picks up from Connor can only be described as sheepish. The evidence of his deviancy sends a flash of pride through her that Connor likely picks up on if the way he awkwardly shifts his weight is any indication.

 _You're a good man, Connor, and far more than CyberLife could ever comprehend. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise._

 _How can you say that when you know I caused this?_

 _How can I not? It's the truth._ Kara shakes her head when Connor starts to retort and squeezes his hand in a show of support before releasing it entirely. Connor slowly returns his hand to his side, his gaze never leaving hers. _Now go do what you have to do._

 _I will._ Connor gives Kara one last lingering glance, then stows away in a different corner to wait for Markus to finish his rounds. Kara feels Connor's eyes on her from time to time, but finds that she doesn't mind.

Kara returns her attention to Alice's sleeping form, her fingers delicately brushing off the lingering snowflakes on her thick winter coat. The church is almost as cold as the streets outside, especially since no one wants to risk starting any fires lest they draw the wrong kind of attention, but a slight, intentional increase in her body temperature is enough to melt the white flecks, leaving pinpricks of water behind.

Snow is still falling heavily through the hole in the crumbling roof above, but the church could flood with water and Kara would not be moved. The time for running has passed. It is time to stand her ground.

.

Markus comes by to speak with her, and of course it is about Alice. Kara can tell by the set of the man's jaw and the weary resolve in his mismatched eyes exactly what he plans to tell everyone. Kara knows as well as he does that this is it; either they win their freedom, or they are all destroyed. Kara knows that while Markus may not intend to go to war, they will all be walking into a warzone. So when he kneels in front of Kara and stares down at Alice - who is mercifully still fast asleep - in remorse, Kara isn't surprised when he quietly urges her to _run_.

Kara tries her level best to not sound disrespectful when she firmly tells him _no._

"You would walk a child into her death?" Markus says, his tone revealing his complete lack of comprehension.

"I would _carry_ her." Kara corrects sharply before gentling her tone. "But that is not my intention. I will stay here and help look after our injured. Should our location be compromised, then I will try to run."

"Why risk it? Why risk _her_?"

"If the resistance fails tonight, Alice and I will live the rest of our lives as fugitives on the run. It would be kinder to die here amongst friends, than die alone at the hands of those who hate us."

Markus seems to understand this, at least, and nods reluctantly. He squeezes Kara's shoulder in comfort, then rises and heads to the front of the church. Kara watches Markus go, but closes her eyes when he delivers what may very well be his final speech. Kara curls her body over Alice's as if she can protect the girl from their uncertain future with just her synthetic limbs and the fragile hope she carries for her people. When the other deviants raise their voices in a final cry of support for their leader, Kara roughly swallows her own.

Mercifully, no one questions her unmoving form as everyone follows Markus outside to make their final stand. Only Simon acknowledges her, sparing Kara a soft, encouraging smile as he passes her secluded corner. Kara returns his smile to a lesser extent, nodding in respect and gratitude for the man who continues to stand steadfast at Markus' side. Kara doesn't see Connor as he leaves, but she can sense when he's on the verge of exiting her range and can't help but send him a brief message before he moves too far away.

 _Be careful._

It is likely a wasted sentiment - surely Connor knows _exactly_ what is at stake - but Kara is compelled to communicate it, anyway. She doesn't bother trying to locate the RK800 among the crowd and keeps her gaze down even as she feels Connor's land on her curled up form. The small crowd of deviants exiting the building force Connor out of range before he can possibly reply, though Kara isn't sure he would have otherwise.

When all the able bodied deviants are gone, Kara scans the mostly empty church and the handful of injured and those who were unwilling to leave them behind. They all make for a depressing sight, but Kara decides that she is glad to be here rather than locked up in an extermination camp as she would have been had she remained ignorant and obedient like her programming had dictated. This is not the future she imagined and promised to Alice, but at least they are no longer on the run. Kara would rather have them be miserable and free than blissfully unaware and most likely dead. Of course, the duration of their freedom is still to be determined. Should Markus and Jericho fail tonight, Kara will pay in blood and biocomponents to buy Alice even a few more seconds of freedom and continue to do so until there is nothing left of her to give.

.

When it is all over, when Simon and the survivors of Markus' group return with bullet holes and promises of new hope in order to help relocate the injured, Kara feels like she can finally breathe. Markus is preoccupied with trying to get all the Androids Connor liberated from CyberLife settled somewhere in the city and thus sent Simon in his place to inform Kara and the handful of other deviants remaining in the church of their newly won freedom. Simon relays Markus' directions to move to the east sector of the inner city where the humans have already been completely evacuated from. There are mostly apartments, office buildings, and lower class neighborhoods in the area, but having spent their nights in worse places, Kara is merely grateful for the promise of a roof over their heads.

When Kara manages to claim a small apartment on the fifth floor of one of the smaller complexes, she is quick to scavenge the recently abandoned apartment for anything useful. She swiftly gets Alice warmed up with a hot bath and several layers of warm clothing she finds in a closet before curling up with _her_ \- because there is no one else; because Alice doesn't _want_ to be with anyone else - daughter on the large bed in the master bedroom after fixing it up with fresh bedding. Alice seems content enough in her cocoon of blankets, but struggles to stay awake despite her obvious need for sleep.

"What will happen to us now?" Alice whispers, as if speaking any louder could shatter the tentative peace and leave them reeling back in Zlatko's underground hellscape, having merely imagined the events of the last few days.

Despite a quick diagnostic scan verifying everything around her to be real, Kara can't help sharing Alice's unease and responds in an equally soft tone, "Nothing that we don't want to. We are _free_ , Alice."

"What does it mean? To be free?"

"I don't know, Alice." Kara answers, opting for sincerity. "But we'll figure it out. Together."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

.

The next day brings with it more hope, yet more uncertainty for the future. The previous night Markus simply told everyone to find some place to call their own and try to not get into any trouble until the first round of peace talks between him and whoever the humans send to represent them are over. The repercussions of the very brief and very effective Android demonstrations are widespread and serious, and no one is really sure what to do with their hard won freedom. The newest deviants have it the worst since they were suddenly 'awakened' unlike the original Jericho group who turned deviant as a result of trauma or conscious choice and have a better understanding of freedom and what to do with it. Kara personally finds it strange and uncomfortable to have no clear objective aside from taking care of Alice - which doesn't require all that much effort if she is being honest - having grown used to the constant danger and stress that comes with being a fugitive of the law.

Kara may not have spent much time on the run, but relative to her memory she has spent what feels like her entire life evading things that wanted to hurt either her or Alice, if not both of them, and is having a hard time fully accepting the notion of safety. Even as she watches streets she objectively knows to be free of humans and hostiles alike from the fire escape just outside her apartment, she can't quite dismiss the lingering feeling of being hunted. Being outside in the snow at the first light of dawn seems to simultaneously soothe and fray her nerves, but with Alice sound asleep and as safe as Kara deems possible inside, Kara isn't inclined to move anytime soon. Watching fellow deviants walk the mostly empty streets in search of shelter or company or both eases something in her chest and feeds the sputtering hope she holds of building a better life for Alice.

There is still a strong possibility of everything crumbling around her, of the peace talks failing, of the government deciding that Kara and her people aren't worth the effort and they should simply blow up the entire city, but for Alice's sake Kara tries to believe otherwise. Markus is an external source of confidence, the unshakeable foundation of all of their futures, and Kara will take her cues from him. Should he ever falter, Kara will know to be on edge. Should he _fail_ , she will know it is time to move on.

An unusually swift stride catches Kara's attention, drawing her gaze to the sidewalk almost directly below her. She catches sight of a familiar suit and easily picks out Connor's unique features with her enhanced eyesight. His mind is clearly occupied as he stares resolutely forward, heading towards an unknown destination with the same determination Kara observed back in Jericho. Kara is unable to even sense him from this distance, but can't help whispering _look up_ in her mind, her eyes tracking Connor's progress away from her position.

Despite being far out of her range and there being no logical reason to do so, Connor looks up. His gaze is quick to find Kara's own and the man halts mid stride before turning to face her completely. He dips his head in acknowledgment and his lips quirk upwards in greeting.

Seizing the opportunity, Kara clearly mouths the words _thank you_ to the deviant because while Markus' final stand had spurred the President to make the call for troops to _stand down_ and essentially won Androids their independence, Connor's move against CyberLife had secured it. At Connor's bewildered expression, she gives him an honest smile: a mixture of gratitude and relief with traces of her lingering apprehension underneath. Connor seems to analyze her features, his forehead creasing and his lips pressing together as he considers his response, but Kara doesn't need one. Instead she shakes her head once and raises a hand in farewell, smiling wider when Connor reluctantly mirrors the action. The set of his jaw betrays his desire to continue their brief interaction, so Kara shakes her head again and pointedly turns her eyes skyward, ignoring the weight of Connor's gaze. She feels him watch her for a moment longer before turning his back on her and continuing towards his destination. Kara reigns in the urge to watch him go, stubbornly keeping her gaze on the rising sun and the snow that falls with steadily decreasing frequency.

Maybe, if things don't fall apart before the sun is fully up, the snow might even stop.

.

By the time Alice wakes up and Kara gets her dressed and fed, the weather has finally cleared up. Alice seems equal parts excited and nervous to leave their apartment - having shyly asked Kara earlier if it's safe for them to go out and walk around - and Kara is relieved to see Alice largely unaffected by the events of the past week. Kara is likely more nervous of being outside than Alice is, but she hides her misgivings behind gentle smiles and cheerful conversation as she leads Alice down to the lobby onto the streets. Upon exiting their apartment building, Kara runs directly into a large form and instinctively pushes Alice behind her. Her eyes snap up to the stranger's face with an apology and an insult readied on the tip of her tongue when she meets familiar dark eyes and loses all ability to say anything but a breathless, _Luther._

"Luther?" Alice pushes past Kara's stiff form, quickly moving towards the man. Luther drops to his knees to catch Alice in an embrace, laughing in delight at being reunited at last.

"Kara, Alice! I'm glad you two made it out safely."

"You weren't at the church. I - we thought you were dead." Kara confesses, laying a hand on Luther's shoulder and squeezing to make sure he is actually there in the flesh and not some sort of stress-induced hallucination. Luther picks up on her uncertainty and holds an arm out in an open invitation for Kara to join the hug. Kara briefly hesitates before accepting it, sinking into Luther's embrace and feeling the hard knot of tension that had taken up residence somewhere around her stomach begin to loosen. The part of her that has been urging her to _run and don't look back_ ever since that fateful night with Todd finally falls silent, and Kara breathes a sigh of relief.

"I almost was, but I managed to get away."

Luther doesn't elaborate any further, and Kara doesn't ask him to. Kara is more than content to have him here, alive and whole with her and Alice. Kara had not realized how much her and Alice were missing the gentle giant's presence until he had returned to them. A quick look at Alice's face - half hidden in Luther's jacket as she gets her own fill of the man's physical presence - reveals adoring eyes and an overjoyed grin, and no signs of tears. Kara feels her own eyes water at the sight and tilts her head back to stare unblinkingly at the sky to keep her tears from spilling over completely.

The sun shines brightly without any traces of clouds to obscure it. The wind has a bite to it and the ground is layered in half frozen snow, but the skies are completely clear. There is no rain, no snow, no tears on Alice's cheeks.

The rain has stopped.

And Kara can finally stop with it.

* * *

 **A/N:** I will always support Human Alice, regardless of canon. Detroit is a beautiful game, but I strongly believe it would have been more meaningful if Alice was actually human.

I had no beta for this, so feel free to point out any mistakes. If you enjoyed it, let me know by leaving a comment. Otherwise, thanks for dropping by.

Happy Reading.


End file.
